With an eye for design, shoe designer and artist Mark Schwartz has transformed the way the world looks at shoes today...

For over 30 years, Mr. Schwartz has produced unique and compelling designs of shoes, considered by him to be the most artistic and important accessory in a woman’s wardrobe. His shoe designs have graced the runways of Paris, Milan and New York, as well as the pages of fashion publications such as Vogue, Elle and W Magazine.

As a young man in the early 1980’s, Mark Schwartz launched his shoe design career by assisting shoe design master Roger Vivier, and within two years Mr. Schwartz rose to become the creative director for Roger Vivier International. Mr. Schwartz aided with the design of many eclectic collections during his 7 years with the company. Roger Vivier introduced Mr. Schwartz to many of the influential players of the 1980’s New York art scene, most importantly Andy Warhol, who mentored Schwartz until his death and was the one who urged Mr. Schwartz to paint his shoe designs. Schwartz and Warhol would meet two or three times a month to exchange ideas and talk about shoes and art. Warhol was a huge influence on Mark pushing him to come up with creative ways to do paintings that included shoes and leaving a strong artistic imprint that Schwartz still uses today in all of his work.

Schwartz started his career back in the early 1980’s working with famed shoe designer Roger Vivier, going on to design for some of the biggest names in the industry, and continuing today to create private collections for clients looking for something truly unique (Oprah, Madonna, Katie Couric, Sharon Stone, Lady Gaga and Julia Roberts to name a few).

Having started his career in Parabiago, Italy, 37 years ago, Schwartz still works and resides there as a partner in a factory with two other Italian shoemakers. Schwartz, a protégé of Andy Warhol, has also been creating unique and sought after paintings, exploring the intimate relationship between women and their shoes.

Warhol encouraged Schwartz to turn his shoe sketches back in 1983 into whimsical paintings and ever since then Schwartz's works have been collected all over the world.

“Shoes provide the foundation for the image that a woman wants to broadcast to the world. Every woman can change that message every day or more if she chooses. Shoes are an extension of a woman’s mood, and should be observed and documented accordingly.”